Damage
by Starbee
Summary: After a particularly nasty battle on Cybertron, Sunstreaker is left with dealing with the last thing he had ever wanted to deal with.


So yeah, this has been in my head a while, another story in an attempt to take a turn at trying to write seriously. It's hard.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.

The first thing he could realize when he first onlined was that he was in _pain. _Every pain receptor in his body was screaming as he lurched to his feet with a groan. His head lolling to one side he ran an internal diagnostic, checking his systems for damage, emitting another groan as his left optic flickered out, filling his view with gray static for a moment before returning to normal, then flickering out again, permanently.

One hand reaching up to rub at his head, Sunstreaker looked around with his one good optic at the unfolding battle before him.

From the looks of things, the Decepticons were finally winning. Autobots whose names Sunstreaker had never cared to know lay on the battlefield, some twitching, others calling for mercy or a medic as they crawled about on the tattered field of Cybertron. The sky of his home planet was dark and thunderous, as if mimicking the battle below, the clouds fighting the lightning.

The artistic side of the Autobot would have paused, working to store the scene in his memory banks. But the warrior side of him wanted to press on, to rejoin the battle.

As he stumbled forward, making his way to the thick of the battle, Sunstreaker couldn't help but wonder that he had forgotten something. He paused, thinking, working to make his processor work properly.

Then it hit him. "Slag it!" He growled, whirling around as his optic scanned the battlefield. "Sideswipe!" He shouted, ignoring the eerie echoing sound his voice made against the tattered buildings, mere shells of their once towering glory.

He stumbled about, slipping on slick energon and oil as he searched for his twin. Pushing aside body after body of Decepticon and Autobot alike, he continued his frantic search, growing more and more panicked at each unsuccessful turn of some poor red 'bot's body.

_Wait. _He paused, working to focus on their bond. _C'mon bro, where are you. This isn't the time to play a prank. _He broadcasted through their connection, the message growing more and more frantic when there was no reply.

_Sun… _

Sunstreaker paused, tilting his head upwards. _Bro? _he reached out tentatively, searching for his brother's normally confident spark.

There it was. It fluttered weakly, broadcasting relief through the bond they shared. Pinpointing it Sunstreaker scurried his way over, pushing aside a fallen seeker model to reveal his brother.

Sideswipe looked a mess. His left arm had become almost detached entirely from his shoulder, hanging by a few sparking wires. One leg was severed entirely from the knee joint and his face had been smashed in, leaving half of it intact while the other showed the wires and framework beneath the normally cheery gray face.

Emitting a tiny electronic moan, sorrow pulsating through their bond, Sunstreaker sank to his knees and grasped at his brothers intact arm, his optics flashing with grief as he scanned his brother's form. "Bro…" He said thickly, his spark wrenching at the sight of his twin.

His brother couldn't form words –how could it be possible, with his face like that?- but the working side of his face twisted into what would have been a warm smile, had the broken half not made it so grotesque. _Glad… Here… _He broadcasted, squeezing Sunstreaker's hand tightly.

With another little moan Sunstreaker settled down beside his brother, clutching the one good hand and gently pulling his brothers head into his lap, ignoring the lubricant that seeped over his hand and lap as he did so, cooing soft words through their bond.

Time passed, and neither twin cared to know how long as they sat, seeking comfort through their bond and the physical contact they both so needed at the moment. Dark clouds rolled above them, streaks of lightening illuminating the area around them.

Sunstreaker could feel himself weakening, his systems shutting down as he fought both crippling exhaustion and his brothers pain, leaving a sick sensation in his systems.

_Sun… Weak? Leave? _Sideswipe's pitiful chopped speech invaded Sunstreaker's senses, the inquiry harmless enough, and Sideswipe's one good optic stared up at him, the blue optic searching his yellow twins face.

"No." Sunstreaker muttered, gently tracing patterns on his brothers frame, his optics soft. "No, I'll stay with you."

_Stay.. Wake.. _

With a nod to his brother, he gently stroked the undamaged side of his brother's head, the rolling thunder and the oncoming warmth making him tired.

His head drooped over his brothers, his optic flickering as he worked to beat the oncoming exhaustion.

At last though, his exhaustion won out and Sunstreaker slipped into recharge, slumped over his brother, his body hunched and his head lowered into his chest. His one hand rested on his brother's helm, and his other lay clutched in his brother's.

From Sideswipe's angle, his brother looked peaceful. It was not often that Sunstreaker looked calm, relaxed, around the other Autobots. He had quickly earned the reputation as the 'sociopath' of the group, the one so uncaring about anyone else but himself.

And when Sunstreaker was in the brig for some fight he had caused, whether it be with some hapless minibot that had gotten into his way, or some authority figure he hated and thus refused to take orders from, Sideswipe was never far behind, quickly devising a prank that would land him in the cell right by his brothers.

As Sideswipe thought of his brother, he too could feel the pain winning out in his own body, and the red mech gasped, his back arching as best it could in his current position as sharp, jabbing pains extended throughout his body.

With a miniscule shudder, his one good optic grew dark and his head pushed into his brother's hand, his grip on Sunstreaker's hand loosening as his entire body shut down.

Sunstreaker slept on.

--

"_Sweet Primus, what a disaster."_

"_I know. It's…"_

"_Disgusting? Revolting? Horrendous?"_

"_Whatever you'd like." _

Sunstreaker's systems revived themselves slowly, his optics still dim but his audio receptors catching every word. Two 'Bots were walking close enough to him, their heavy footfalls crunching through debris as they picked their way to the fallen bodies. One stopped not too far away from the twins, and Sunstreaker could feel himself tense up.

"_Look at these two." _The 'Bot was now crouching down beside him, and Sunstreaker could hear the familiar beeping noise coming from the device medics used to assess the damage.

"_This one'll be fine, but the other one… It'd be best to just put him offline permanently." _

Sunstreaker's optic flashed angrily and he lashed out, catching the nameless, red and blue medic in the throat and squeezing tightly. The medic gasped in surprise, choking as he clawed at Sunstreaker's hand, but the yellow mech's grip was like iron.

"Save. Him. Now." He ground out, tightening further and cutting off the essential flow of oil and lubricant to the medic's head.

The medic continued to scrabble viciously, his optics flickering as his vocal processor failed him.

"Sunstreaker." The yellow mech rounded around, his grip still tight on the medic's throat. Ratchet stood a little ways away, his white form grimy and stained with lubricant, energon, and things Sunstreaker couldn't care to identify.

Sunstreaker stared up at the medic defiantly, his hand tightening further before letting the medic go with a savage push, sending him sprawling away. "Fix him, Ratchet." His voice was hollow, hateful, and as he turned to regard his twin, his mouth dropped open with surprise.

Sideswipe looked offline, and if it hadn't been the fact that his twin's colouring was still its vivid red and white, Sunstreaker would have thought he were gone. His face crumbled at the sight and he bent over his twin, his body shaking with dry, panicked sobs.

Ratchet regarded the scene quietly, slowly inching his way forward with his tools, slowly kneeling down beside the yellow mech, gently prying the warrior's body off Sideswipe. "We'll fix him, Sunny." He said quietly, slowly wrapping a hand around the mech's body.

Sunstreaker stiffened visibly and Ratchet retracted his hand, bending over now as he began to make a field repair, while the other medic hoarsely radioed in for a pickup. The yellow mech watched as Ratchet patched a few of Sideswipe's wounds, and anxiously scanned the skies for the sight of a ship.

Sunstreaker agonized over the wait. He was angry, angry at how long the pickup was taking, angry at that nameless medic, angry at the red and blue medic standing off to the side, angry at Ratchet, angry at the Decepticons.

The sound of a ship's engine alerted Sunstreaker to the pickup ship, his face a picture of relief as it landed a little ways away, and bent over to help Ratchet pick up Sideswipe, angrily shoving the medic away from his brother's prone body.

Pointedly ignoring Ratchet's look of warning Sunstreaker clambered in, at first sitting right beside his brother until Ratchet made him move further off.

Sunstreaker had to content himself to watching from afar as Ratchet once again bent over Sideswipe, sparks flying as Ratchet once again began repairs.

--

Sunstreaker followed slowly from behind as Ratchet and the other medic wheeled down the hall, Sideswipe resting on the gurney. As they turned into a waiting operating room, Ratchet turned around and placed his hand on Sunstreaker's chest.

"Not you." He said grimly. "You stay out."

Sunstreaker turned his head to Ratchet, snarling at the medic angrily. "I'm going in." He tried to push past the medic, but Ratchet splayed out his feet and pushed back Sunstreaker.

"No, you're not." At Sunstreaker's glare, Ratchet sighed softly and relaxed his posture. "Listen, the more we stay out here arguing about it the less time I have with your twin. So," And gesturing to a seat out in the hall Ratchet turned around, the door sliding shut and locking.

Sunstreaker glared at the door, aiming a savage kick to the offending metal and stomping his foot. A childish gesture, he knew, but slag it, it made him feel better. Rounding about he dropped himself into a waiting chair and with a loud whuffing noise, settled in to wait.

--

It felt like ages had passed when red and blue medic finally stepped out of the room and Sunstreaker half rose out of his seat, but at the medic's impatient shake of his head Sunstreaker settled back into his seat, focusing, instead, on glaring at the medic.

"Oh, stop it. I'm out here to repair you because Ratchet said you wouldn't have gone anywhere." The medic snapped impatiently, and marched forward.

Sunstreaker stood up and met the medics gaze with one of his own, his upper lip curling into a snarl. "Keep your 'bot killing servos off me." He growled.

The medic let out a bark of laugh. "Like you should be one to talk, you idiot. Look at what you do in the battlefield every day!" Smirking up at Sunstreaker the medic shrugged. "I just clean up your messes."

Sunstreaker's hands clenched into fists, his optics flashing angrily at the medic, but said nothing as the medic grasped at his hand and began repairs in the hall.

As the medic worked Sunstreaker kept his optics at the door, waiting for Ratchet to emerge with either good or bad news.

As Sunstreaker waited, his thoughts turned to something darker. If Sideswipe didn't make it, and he joined the Well of the All Spark, Sunstreaker would be alone. Well, for a few breems at least, before his half of their spark finally gave out and he'd join his brother.

But still, those few breems would be agony. He'd be alone, totally, completely, entirely, alone. No familiar feeling of his brother there, just on the edge of his processor, taunting him, always eager to share a new prank with him.

But he'd be alone.

He was jolted back to reality when the medic tugged at a wire and Sunstreaker growled in surprise. "Watch what you're doing!"

The medic shook his head and continued his work. "Yeah well, if you hadn't moved then nothing would have happened, now would it?" He smirked up at Sunstreaker. "Is that why your brother was so hurt? Because you didn't move? Didn't save him?" Ignoring Sunstreaker's vicious stare the medic continued. "Oh, wait, is it because he was _better _than you? Is that it? I know you, Sunstreaker, you can't let _anyone _be better than _you!_"

With a roar Sunstreaker leaped forward and threw the medic to the ground, slamming the medic's head onto the floor repeatedly, over and over, letting blind rage take over as he pummeled the medic in front of him.

Suddenly hands were pulling him off, throwing him backwards, causing him to stumble into the wall. He braced himself for a blast from some stunner or a vicious reprimand, but nothing came as he watched Ratchet pull the medic to his feet.

"Get out Castor. Get out." The medic's voice was deadly calm, but as he pushed the medic, Castor, sprawling away, Sunstreaker knew otherwise and for a minute, marveled that a complete stranger could get Ratchet so angry.

Sideswipe could never accomplish that.

Sunstreaker barely listened as Castor protested, first with determination, then finally wilting as he picked up his belongings and left, casting an angry glance over his shoulder.

Ratchet shook his head and turned away, focusing on Sunstreaker, who bristled angrily at Ratchet's disappointed face.

"Stupid half-aft sparkling." Ratchet sighed and shook his head at Sunstreaker, who cocked an eyeridge in confusion. "I heard everything he said, Sunny."

"Sideswipe?" Sunstreaker questioned, deciding that he could worry about the idiot medic later. Ratchet paused for a moment before reaching forward, guiding Sunstreaker into the brightly lit operating area.

--

Oh look, cliffhanger.

Heh, I'm such an ass. Also, Castor was _never _meant to be like that. I had never intended him to act so… Rudely. But I guess for this story I could change him a little bit. Second chapter will conclude.


End file.
